(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to television apparatuses and, in particularly, to a television apparatus that is capable of changing setting data through a menu screen and the like.
(2) Description of the Related Art
Conventional television apparatuses have setting data for channel switching, sound volume control, switching of inputs from external apparatuses such as video equipment, and image quality adjustment. The setting data can be changed through menu screens displayed with the use of OSD images as well as through remote controllers. When setting data is changed, broadcast programs are not displayed on the TV screen. Especially on menu screens or on screens where input switching is performed, nothing is displayed or only OSD images are displayed, which is very different from ordinary broadcast programs.
However, today television apparatuses have become widely used all over the world, and they are now used by many users with various backgrounds. There are some users who use television apparatuses without any knowledge about the setting data. There is a possibility such users will change setting data on screen by erroneous operations. In such cases, those users often make the wrong judgment that the television apparatuses have broken down because the users do not acknowledge that they have changed the setting data. Even if the users acknowledge that they have changed the setting data, they can not return the screens to their previous states if the users are not familiar with how to operate the menu screens, with the result that the users feel disturbed with such situations.
As one of the ways to return the television apparatus easily and quickly to the state of channel selection, a remote controller that includes a recording unit for recording channel selection history data and a history displaying unit for displaying the channel selection history data recorded by the recording unit is disclosed. In addition, the remote controller provides a function to enable a user to select his desired channel without knowledge about how to return the television apparatus to the state of channel selection (refer to Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication (JP-A-2003-333358).
And also disclosed is another television apparatus that includes a remote controller equipped with a release key. A user can easily return the setting data of the television apparatus to the previous state using the release key when he is at a loss as to how to operate the television apparatus in setting mode, with the result that the user can operate the television apparatus without anxiety even if he is unfamiliar with the operation (refer to JP-A-5-292420).
In addition, disclosed is another television apparatus that includes a recording unit for recording setting data, a selecting function for selecting setting data recorded by the recording unit, and a setting function for setting an initial setting according to the setting data selected by the selecting unit. Every time the television apparatus is powered on, it is returned to the setting state equal to the state just before the television apparatus was powered off the last time (refer to JP-A-2003-69917).